For Immediate Release

February 18, 2012

The Western Illinois Museum announces

schedule of programs to accompany current exhibit,Home Front: Life During the Civil War

The Western Illinois Museum has a full line up of programs to accompany the newest exhibit, Home Front: Life During the Civil War.  There is something for everyone: lectures, book discussions, and even genealogy.  The programs center around the themes in the exhibit which looks at the impact the Civil War had on our region. 

Programs are free and open to the public. Additional information can be found on the museum’s facebook page, web site at www.westernillinoismuseum.org or by phone at 309.837.2750.

Fifty Miles to Slave Country: Slavery in Missouri and Why It Matters

Saturday, February 25th at 1:00 p.m.

Katie Benson, WIU History Graduate Student and Intern at the Western Illinois Museum, will share her research on the uniqueness of slavery in Missouri, who these slaves were and what they were doing.  Missouri, being only fifty miles from Macomb, brings the issue close to home and the lecture will show its impact on the freed Missouri slaves who settled in Macomb.

Find your Civil War Relative

Saturday, March 17 at 1:00 – 4:00 p.m.

The West-Central Illinois Civil War Round Table and the McDonough County Genealogical Research Center in partnership with the Western Illinois Museum will hold a program to help participants explore their own Civil War heritage.  The program will be held on Saturday, March 17, from 1:00 – 4:00 at the museum. Participants will have a one-on-one session with a Round Table member to search for their Civil War relatives using various internet resources, an introduction to the Genealogical Society's Research Center and what it offers, and a tour of the current exhibit, Home Front: Life During the Civil War, with the museum’s curator.

Participants are encouraged to bring what information they have about the family member they are interested in researching.

Please RSVP for the program at 309.837.2750 or info@westernillinoismuseum.org.

Let’s Talk About It, Making Sense of the Civil War

Thursday, March 1 and April 5 at 7:00 p.m.

Join us for a reading and discussion about the Civil War, led by WIU History Professor Tim Roberts. The program will be held at the Malpass Library on the WIU campus.  Copies of the books can be checked out from the museum.  Find more information on the museum’s web site: www.westernillinoismuseum.org.

Civil War Letter between Thomas and

Lovinia Woof with Peggy and Wilbur Meyer

Saturday, May 5th at 1:00 p.m.

Married on July 4, 1854, Thomas and Lovinia Woof settled in Concord, Illinois, and started a family.  With the onset of the Civil War, Thomas enlisted with the 101st Illinois Infantry and their lives changed dramatically.  Peggy and Wilbur Meyer found a collection of the couple’s letters in their attic and have done significant research into their relatives’ lives.  This program is full of history, a lesson in genealogy and a captivating love story.

The current exhibit is on view through May 26, 2012.  Museum hours are Tuesday through Saturday from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm.  The museum is located at 201 South Lafayette Street, one block south of Macomb’s Courthouse Square.

The September meeting

of the West-Central Illinois Civil War Round Table

will be held on Wednesday, September 14 at 7:00 PM. 

We'll meet at New Copperfield's Book Service

on the North Side of Macomb's Square as usual. 

The topic of our next meeting will be a group discussion

of the Ed Ayers' book,

 "In the Presence of Mine Enemies."

The next meeting of the West-Central Illinois Civil War Round Table will be on WEDNESDAY July 13th at 7 PM at New Copperfield's Book Service.  Bob Welch will present about the battle of Athens, Missouri, an important early war battle that helped secure northeast Missouri from partisan action.  The presentation is in anticipation of the 150th anniversary of the battle.There will be some business to discuss at the meeting as well.  We will vote on the possibility of moving meeting times permanently to Wednesday nights, as well as the establishment of dues in order to cover paper expenses and advertising for the round table.  Don't forget, we'll be discussing "In the Presence of Mine Enemies" in September, so if you haven't ordered your copy yet, please see Linda and Rick as soon as possible.

Macomb Heritage Days Festival

June 23-25, 2011

The Annual Heritage Days Festival takes place in the historic downtown of Macomb in Chandler Park. The Park is located at the intersection of highway 67 and 136. This year marks the 30th Anniversary of Heritage Days and the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.

The 2011 Heritage Days theme is

"A Salute to the Civil War- The 150th Anniversary."

The festival will feature live entertainment, food, a carnival, a parade and much, much more! Local businesses, class reunions, services organizations and other local entities are encouraged to participate in the annual Heritage Days Parade, taking place Saturday, June 25th, 2011. This is an event for the entire family!

For more information or to request vendor forms contact the Macomb Area Convention Bureau at 309.833.1315 or macvb@macomb.com macvb@macomb.com

June 8, 2011

2:00-3:30pm

Garden Lounge, Malpass Library,

Western Illinois University 

Talk by retired WIU history professor

and Civil War specialist

Larry T. Balsamo

Also, exhibit of Civil War-related materials

from WIU Archives and Special Collections

Western Illinois Museum 

WHAT: May Artifact of the Month is a Civil War logbook

WHEN: May 3-31, 2011

WHERE:  Western Illinois Museum, 201 S. Lafayette St., Macomb, IL

May 16, 2011

Exhibit of books on the Civil War from the Malpass Library collection.

Second floor at Malpass Library, Western Illinois University, near Circulation.

May 9, 2011 7pm

at the Trinity Lutheran Church,

123 South Campbell St., Macomb

Business meeting to begin at 7pm

After the business meeting

Program open to the public

Retired WIU history professor

and Civil War specialist

Dr. Larry Balsamo will speak

"The Civil War, The People's War, 

One Historian's View" 

Dr. Balsamo will focus on how this war, with a momentum of its own, affected not just the nation and our own history, but also the the people  who lived through it.  In conclusion, he will discuss longer range results of the war, including ones in the present.

May 3, 2011 2:00pm

Civil War Program:

“Noble Cause/High Cost

Letters between

a husband and wife” 

 Travel through time and visit the families who through sacrifice kept our nation under one government

The Bushnell Historical Society

at the Bushnell Recreation center

Bushnell, IL

This Civil War presentation is performed by two sisters,

Connie Markley and Peggy Meyer, who deciphered the

hand written letters between Thomas Blair and Lovinia Jemina Wooff written from 1862 to 1864 while he was serving in the Union Army.

The next meeting

of the

West-Central Illinois Civil War Round Table

will be on Tuesday, April 12, at 7 PM. 

 at New Copperfield's Book Service on the Historic Courthouse Square, Macomb, Illinois

On this month's agenda, we'll vote on what book we'll read and discuss later in the year, and we'll also have a general discussion of our interests in the Civil War era. 

The West-Central Illinois Civil War Round Table has a Facebook page!

Check it out for lots of information!

Annual event at Naper Settlement in Naperville

"Civil War Days" will be held Saturday and Sunday, May 21-22, 2011. Michael Krebs will be attending as President Abraham Lincoln. See the Naper Settlement website at: http://www.napersettlement.org/calendar/Civil%20War%20Days.html

The Illinois Civil War Sesquicentennial website www.illinoiscivilwar150.org will be launched February 11, 2011, the official kick-off date of the Nation’s remembrance.  The site will feature a state-wide calendar of events related to the Sesquicentennial, a timeline of Illinois and the Civil War, U.S. Grant day-by-day, downloadable PDFs of Civil War related articles and educational materials, bi-monthly features to keep the site evolving and fresh, and suggestions for further reading on topics throughout the state.
A pdf form is available via the website to use for any events you’d like to see on the state-wide events calendar.  Send the form and/or an article you would like to have posted on the site, please email the information to Karen.everingham@illinois.gov.

The West-Central Illinois Civil War Roundtable meets monthly at New Copperfield’s Book Service,120 N. Side Square.  For more information about the Roundtable, contact Linda Cox at 837-3052 or Don Bath at 833-1893.

For further information contact: Don Bath, dbath@macomb.com

Research Subject Guide from the Western Illinois University Library

 -click on the link

http://wiu.libguides.com/civwar

The Civil War 

McDonough County Civil War Sesquicentennial Volunteer Opportunity I

To celebrate the Sesquicentennial next year, The McDonough County Voice newspaper will be  periodically running the front page from McDonough County newspapers from the time of the Civil War.  

Your help is needed!  

The newspaper needs either a group or individual

to help in identifying what cover pages to run. 

Here is a fun volunteer opportunity  for someone or a group to take on!

To volunteer, contact Marty Fischer at  marty_fischer@msn.com

In 2011 America will commemorate the 150th anniversary of

the start of the Civil War.

Plans are beginning to take shape for a mulitude of events, activities and happenings to mark this special anniversary in McDonough County

all year long.

If your organization is planning a event please share the details with the Consortium

and we will list it here.

Commemorate the beginning of the Civil War Sesquicentennial with a visit to the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum for its one-of-a-kind temporary exhibition.

TEAM OF RIVALS:
Lincoln's Cabinet at the Crossroads of War

A Civil War Sesquicentennial Exhibition
October 14, 2010 - August 15, 2011

What is it like to be President...when faced with a decision for war?

This exhibition takes you inside the highest levels of the United States government as Abraham Lincoln and his cabinet struggle with the momentous issue of war. Restricted to the information they possessed at the time, you will confront the perplexities and options they faced during the first weeks of Lincoln's presidency — and decide for yourself if they made the right choices...

http://www.alplm.org/events/team_of_rivals.html

The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library & Museum is located at:
212 North Sixth Street
Springfield, IL 62701
(217) 558-8844

For those of you interested in all things Civil War-related,

here is a fun website called "Sesquicentennial Madness".

http://sesquicentennialmadness.wordpress.com/